There's
an early scene in The Black Scorpion when our heroes
search a mysteriously abandoned house after hearing
suspicious noises. Guns drawn, they get to the last room and discover
it's just a baby cooing in his cradle. Relieved, Dr. Hank Scott
(Richard Denning) smiles, chuckles to his partner and repeatedly points at the little bambino...with his pistol. This doesn't have
anything to do with the plot, but remind me never to hire Dr. Scott
as a babysitter.

Elsewhere,
The Black Scorpion sees an angry nest of enormous arachnids unleashed in
Mexico after a massive earthquake creates a new volcano. Dr. Scott is
an American geologist sent down to study the eruption, but spends
more time flirting with cattle rancher Teresa Alvarez
(played by beautiful B queen Mara Corday, so who can blame
him?). When these supersized scorpions begin attacking a nearby village, Scott and colleague Arturo Ramos (Carlos Rivas) put
their research on hold to become epic exterminators.

Best. Halftime show. Ever.

The
scorpions only come out at night, so after blowing up the cave where
they hang-out during daylight, Scott & friends think they're in
the clear. They're gravely mistaken, of course, because what's the
point of a giant bug movie if the title creature isn't allowed to attack a major city?
In this case, its Mexico City, and the last remaining scorpion is the
biggest mother of them all.

For
the most part, The Black Scorpion is your garden variety low
budget, big-bug flick, complete with recycled action footage and
actors accustomed to dealing with nature run-amok. However, the film
is noteworthy for featuring some of the last stop-motion creature
work by Willis O'Brien, who once brought Kong to life and taught Ray
Harryhausen everything he knows. Despite working with obviously
limited resources, his monsters are creepy creations, though the
misguided decision to give the title creatures human-like faces
makes them all look like Edward G. Robinson.

"Listen, you crummy, flat-footed copper!"

Additionally,
the movie is a lot of fun. It's got a decent story that moves along
nicely and the special effects are pretty neat (though repeated...a
lot). Considering its budget, a sequence where the title
creatures attack a passenger train (train wreck...YEAH!!!)
is particularly impressive. The plot even includes the obligatory, cute child character who only exists to put himself in peril by being
stupid. Though not among the best of its genre, The Black Scorpion
is a nifty little nugget from the golden age of monster movies.

EXTRA
KIBBLES

"STOP-MOTION
MASTERS" - Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen talks about
learning from and working with his mentor, Willis O'Brien.

The score-only version of Star Wars: The Last Jediis available exclusively on Movies Anywhere for a limited time.
Simply sign-up for Movies Anywhere and link your digital retailer
account where you purchased your digital copy in order to unlock it!

Lucasfilm’s worldwide phenomenon, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, is now available on digital and arrives on Blu-ray & 4K on Tuesday, March 27th.

March 17, 2018

In
nothing else, you aren't likely to find a more lovingly-assembled
Blu-Ray release dedicated to a single 15 minute film.

Of
course, this isn't just any 15 minute film. A
Trip to the Moon is arguably the most important 15 minute film in
history. Universally acknowledged as the very first science
fiction movie (heavily inspired by Jules Verne), it was the brainchild Georges Melies. In addition
to being a technical pioneer, he explored the narrative possibilities
of film before it was even an industry.

More than just the film, this
set is also a celebration of Melies himself. In
fact, the uninitiated might want to check out the accompanying 65 minute
documentary beforehand. The Extraordinary Voyage is a
wonderful retrospective of Melies' groundbreaking achievements,
featuring interviews and commentary by various filmmakers &
historians, along with clips from many of the 500+ films
he made during his relatively short career. The film also documents
the painstaking efforts to restore a long-thought-lost colorized
version of A Trip to the Moon - each frame was originally
hand-painted! - to its former glory.

Inside Gary Busey's head.

Watching
the documentary first, one can't help but view A Trip to the Moon
as much more than just whimsical entertainment (thought it's still
quite charming). It's impossible not to appreciate the film's impact
and influence on both audiences and filmmaking. This disc features
both the restored color print, which looks remarkable, and the commonly-available (but more intact) black & white version.
There are also several music options, including orchestral,
improvised piano and a surprisingly effective synthesized score.
Other audio options offer narration and/or actors voicing some
of the characters.

This
Blu-Ray edition of A Trip to the Moon from Flicker Alley is
must-own for anyone who considers themself a cinephile. The
film's lasting influence is immeasurable and the chance to finally
experience it as audiences first did in 1902 is too good to pass up.

EXTRA
KIBBLES

THE
EXTRAORDINARY VOYAGE - A feature-length 2011 documentary about
Melies' life and career, with a special emphasis on "A Trip to
the Moon." One of the best film history docs I've ever seen.

"THE
ECLIPSE" (1904) & "THE ASTRONOMER'S DREAM" (1898)
- Two other Melies films.

SUPLEMENTARY
BOOKLET - Contains screenshots, vintage photos and a detailed essay
by Gilles Duval & Severine Wemaere, which is an excerpt from the
book, A Trip to the Moon Back in Color.

Here's
another strong reason why people should probably pay more attention
to who's creatively responsible for a film rather than its pandering trailer. Writer/director Alexander Payne isn't known for
gimmicky, high-concept movies and he sure as
hell didn't start with Downsizing.

Yet
ads and trailers offered it up as a big, fun,
FX-driven sci-fi comedy with Matt Damon experiencing the joy of
tapping a giant vodka bottle (a scene which didn't actually show up in the final cut). It wasn't really fair to audiences or Payne, who wrote and
directed a more somber and thought-provoking film than that.

As
a solution to overpopulation, climate change and Earth's depleting
resources, a brilliant Norwegian scientist develops a technology which reduces people to five inches. At that size, not only do they
consume less of everything, even those with relatively few assets can
suddenly afford lives of luxury. Years later, Paul Safranek (Matt
Damon), an occupational therapist who once had bigger dreams, sees this as a chance to do
something important. His wife, however, backs out at the last second. Since the procedure is irreversible, Paul's stuck living on his own in Leisureland (the community
where everyone who's been "downsized" live).

"Yeah, I was expecting Steve Martin to be here, too."

For
a time, Paul is lonely and bored, working as a telemarketer and
befriending Dusan (Christoph Waltz), an aging Serbian playboy who
hosts wild parties every night. Then he meets one of Dusan's
housekeepers, Ngoc Lan (Hong Chau), a Vietnamese political prisoner
who was shrunk against her will and shipped to America. Through her,
he discovers Leisureland isn't quite the utopia he was led to believe
and that downsizing has done little to change the social injustices
plaguing the rest of the world. The story takes an even darker turn
after Paul accompanies Dusan to Norway to the village
where the very first downsizers have been living - in relative
isolation - for decades.

While
it's not exactly Honey, I Shrunk Matt Damon, Downsizing
is sometimes very funny for reasons we're led to expect. But
Payne also has something important to say about humankind's inherent
short-sightedness, apathy and egocentrism. Infusing some biting
satire, he doesn't paint an optimistic picture of the world or
its future. In fact, there are moments when the story is kind-of
depressing, especially when Leisureland is depicted as a little more
than microcosm of the world its inhabitants supposedly wanted to save.

"Sorry...I ate all the crackers."

The
film is a bit overlong. The first hour, in particular, is pretty
meandering - almost aimless - until the real story kicks in,
which is full of surprises and as engaging as it is intelligent.
Aside from a boatload of gratuitous cameos (mainly during the first
act), the characters are interesting, as are most of the
performances. Damon is...well, Matt Damon, but Waltz & Udo Kier
are wonderful in roles which seem tailor-made for them. The best
performance, though, belongs to Chau, whose character becomes
emotional crux of the film.

Downsizing
is smart, enjoyable and poignant, not at-all like the film we were sold. That's arguably the biggest reason it undeservedly came-and-went in theaters within a few weeks. But perhaps it'll enjoy a second life on home video, being a
very rewarding experience once the viewer knows what to expect.

March 14, 2018

Here's something that'll never happen... an American remake of Ichi
the Killer, promoted with a gloriously misleading poster featuring Mark Wahlberg & Jeremy Renner, arms crossed and standing back-to-back beneath the tagline: These two give new
meaning to Here Comes the Pain!

Anybody who's ever seen Ichi the Killer knows
it's too bonkers to ever be effectively remade. For better or
worse, this is a one-of-a-kind film. To make even minor narrative,
stylistic or tonal changes renders any notion of a remake ridiculous
(just ask Spike Lee). In that respect, I suppose it puts Ichi the
Killer in the same company as Jaws.

Not
that the film is a similar exercise in cinematic artistry. I think
many Takashi Miike fans would concur that much of the director's appeal lies in
his gung-ho audacity. Along with the
equally-insane Audition, Ichi the Killer remains his
magnum opus, a whacked-out assault on good taste that has earned a notorious level
of international infamy that few other Asian cult films have
achieved (even all these years later, it is arguably the Gone with the Wind of WTF?).

"Stop it! That tickles!"

Cult
classic credentials notwithstanding, Ichi the Killer's bipolar
attitude and approach to its unflinching violence remains a bone of
contention (for this writer, anyway). On one hand, the most graphic
scenes of violence are so extreme and over-the-top that they border
on surreal. That, along with some amusing performances (especially by
Tadanocu Asano as the pain-addicted Kakihara), has the film
approaching a level of black comedy that's a lot of brutal fun. The
voyeuristic sexual violence, on the other hand, is depicted far more
realistically and really tough to take.

Not
that my reservations should dissuade anybody reading this, most of
whom are probably already well-aware of the story and sick
thrills in-store. This isn't Ichi the Killer's first Blu-Ray
rodeo, either. It was first released in 2010 by Tokyo Shock. I've
never seen that edition, but by most accounts, the video & audio
quality was pretty shitty. That's no longer an issue with this nicely-restored transfer from Well Go USA. However, the new disc much lighter on bonus
features...just an audio commentary, still gallery and trailer. Looks like some of you sick puppies planning to double-dip will have to hang onto both discs.

So what does happen while the city sleeps? Plenty, and none of it
good...

There's
a serial thrill-killer (John Drew Barrymore) who preys on young women
in their apartments. At the scene of his latest kill, he scrawls a
cryptic message, "Ask mother," on the wall with lipstick, prompting the
press to dub him the Lipstick Killer.

Meanwhile,
Kyne Inc., one of the city's media empires, is thrown into
turmoil after its owner suddenly dies. Kyne's son and heir, Walter (Vincent
Price), is an arrogant douchebag who uses the Lipstick Killer story to
manipulate three of his greedy underlings into competing for second
in command. One newsman who wants no part of this is Edward
Mobley (Dana Andrews), who seems more concerned with
catching the killer than getting a promotion and keeps abreast of the
investigation through a friend on the force, Lt. Kaufman (Howard
Duff).

Guess who just had six cups of coffee.

Not
much sleeping gets done in this city (though there's some sleeping
around) as everyone undermines each other's attempts to be promoted,
to the point where the film sometimes plays more like a soap opera
than hardcore film noir. Still, the story and its various subplots
are just interesting enough to keep our attention until this
perpetually perspiring perve strikes again. Good performances help,
of course. Andrews' no-frills acting style serves his
character well, while Rhonda Fleming & Ida Lupino make terrific
temptresses who are as conniving as they are easy on the
eyes. Sally Forrest, on the other hand, is duller than dishwater as Mobley's fiancée, (no wonder Lupino is able to lead him astray).

A
relatively minor late-career directorial effort from the great Fritz
Lang, While the City Sleeps is nevertheless an engaging
potboiler. Though not particularly memorable, it's efficiently-made,
fast-paced and sometimes quite humorous. Calling the film a
timeless classic is a stretch, but it's entertaining in-the-moment and looks great on Blu-Ray.

“The
Director and the Jedi” premiered today at the Paramount Theatre at SXSW
Film Festival today with Mark Hamill, Star Wars: The Last Jedi
director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman, and “The Director and
the Jedi” director Anthony Wonke and producer Tylie Cox in attendance.
The feature-length documentary is an in-depth bonus feature on the
upcoming Digital and Blu-ray release.

Star Wars: The Last Jediis coming home digitally in HD and 4K Ultra HD and via Movies Anywhere tomorrow, March 13 and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, and Blu-ray disc on March 27.

March 10, 2018

When
we hear the name, Serpico, the first image that always comes to mind
is Al Pacino. The 1973 film had such a lasting impact on popular
culture that it's easy to forget Frank Serpico is a real guy.

He's
in his 80s now, and lives a relatively quiet life compared to his
tumultuous police career. But when asked, he still has a lot to say
about it, personal insights that no dramatic depiction - no matter
how well made - can possibly convey. The documentary, Frank
Serpico, catches up with the former cop, as well as ex-partners,
friends and the prosecuting attorney who worked closely with him when
he blew the whistle on the massively corrupt NYPD.

Though
much of the film focuses on those years when he risked his life for a
principle, this is also a biography of Frank himself. We learn about
his childhood and upbringing, as well as the years after his
retirement (he remains an activist and speaks out in support of
various causes). Still, Serpico's historic clash with the NYPD
remains the most interesting part of the film and hearing it from
the horse's mouth is nearly as fascinating as the classic movie
that made him a household name. We also get the impression that,
decades later, Frank Serpico still feels lucky to be alive.

Sitting at Starbucks, Frank spots another Starbucks.

Ultimately,
Frank Serpico tells a story we've heard before, but getting it
directly from the man who lived it - and those he was close to
- provides a unique perspective (he's also quick to refute some creative liberties taken by director Sidney Lumet). This is
a documentary well worth checking out and would make a great double
feature with the 1973 film.

A
plane carrying an experimental laser device crashes off-screen
(shaving the special effects budget) in the Mediterranean Sea. The
Americans need their best operative, Ken Tani (a.k.a. Black Eagle, played by Sho Kosugi) to
retrieve it before the Russians do. He initially
refuses because he wants to spend time with his family. But
his superiors got his back: They send his two young boys to Malta
with him, so now Ken's dangerous, deadly mission into hostile territory can be a work vacation!

Other
than this hilariously lazy plot contrivance (the kids only exist to
be put in peril), there's nothing particularly remarkable about Black
Eagle. It was just one of countless generic, B-movie action-fests
you used to find on any Blockbuster shelf. Respected martial artist
Sho Kosugi lacked the on-screen charisma to stand out among his
peers, and it probably goes without saying there's never been an Eric
Karson career retrospective film festival.

"Black Eagle, huh? More like Mr. Shrinky-Dink."

Still,
Black Eagle earns a footnote in action history for featuring
Jean-Claude Van Damme in one of his first substantial roles. Made
before Bloodsport turned him into an international star, he's
one of the Russian baddies, a stone-faced enforcer who kicks, punches
and performs his patented splits more often than he speaks. Practically
shoehorned into the movie, his character is a constant presence but
inconsequential to the actual plot. Van Damme's really only here to scowl
and square-off against Kosugi a few times, but he's admittedly the best part of the movie.

Jean-Claude's friends need hobbies of their own.

The
film itself is a by-the-numbers thriller with rote performances, a
generic plot and low-wattage action. But if one's aware of this going
in, Black Eagle isn't without some entertainment value, though
sometimes at its own expense. It helps if you have an affinity for
the plethora of budget-conscious action epics being cranked out in the 80s.
A lot of 'em were unintentionally funny even then and this one's no
exception, especially during scenes which take place on and under the
sea, such as a toy boat being used to depict the destruction of a
massive cargo ship.

It's
really the perfect choice for another Blu-Ray release in MVD's
wonderfully-kitschy "Rewind Collection" series. Like their
recent release of the equally-dubious Attack of the Killer
Tomatoes, MVD has pulled out all the stops to give Black Eagle
a remastered Blu-Ray that's loaded with substantial new bonus
material, including four lengthy featurettes and two
versions of the film (theatrical & extended cut, running 10 minutes
longer). Even the cover art and slipcase are affectionate throwbacks to the glory days of VHS, complete with tattered stickers politely reminding
viewers to "Be Kind...Rewind." Whether or not you care for the movie itself, these extras are a lot of fun.

EXTRA
KIBBLES

FEATURETTES:
"The Making of Black Eagle"; "Sho Kosugi:
Martial Arts Legend"; "Tales of Jean-Claude Van Damme";
"The Script and the Screenwriters"

March 8, 2018

NOW AVAILABLE ON DIGITALJUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE debuted on digital March 6 and is available on 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD March 20 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The physical skus will also include digital versions of the movie, redeemable via the all-new Movies Anywhere App. The
family fun adventure stars Dwayne Johnson (Fast and the Furious
franchise), Jack Black (Goosebumps), Kevin Hart (Ride Along) and Karen
Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy franchise).

The Doll

Top 10 Box Office Movies

About D.M. Anderson

D.M. Anderson works and lives in Portland Oregon. He is the author of two young adult novels (Killer Cows & Shaken) and a collection of dark tales (With the Wicked). He has also published several short stories which have appeared (or will appear) in various anthologies and magazines such as 69 Flavors of Paranoia, Night Terrors, Trembles, Encounters, Implosion, Strange Fucking Stories, Perpetual Motion Machine. He documents his adventures in the dark onon his movie site, Free Kittens Movie Guide.